BELFAST—If you like a dirty martini, you’re going to love Nautilus Seafood & Grill’s Pickled Fiddlehead Martini, only seasonally available, and harvested locally.

Nautilus Bar Manager Katie Hills had to be careful not to reveal either the name of the forager who procures the delectable Maine seasonal fiddlehead — the tiny shoots of an ostrich fern that can only be picked late April to early June. Nor could she reveal his secret foraging spots. All she could say about the star ingredient to their cocktail is that the person sold them 24 pints of them in a special brine, and when they’re gone, they’re gone!

This traditional martini made with small-batch crafted Maine-made Twenty 2 vodka has been available for the past eight years at Nautilus and it’s a hit with both locals and tourists, some of whom have never even heard of a fiddlehead.

“This was a collaborative idea, but the idea was to have an original Maine cocktail you couldn’t get anywhere else,” said Hill’s colleague, Laura Hastings, who knows the identity of the harvester. “When he started bringing in these jars of the pickled fiddleheads, we thought, this would taste really good with vodka.”

We set out to see how the cocktail is made and what it really looks like.

First you fill a shaker of ice and add four oz of the Twenty 2 vodka. Then, add a splash of the pickled fiddlehead brine. Shake and strain off the ice. Finally, give the chilled martini glass a “kiss” of the Dolin vermouth into the martini glass. Garnish with a fiddlehead. To see how to make one, watch the video.

Hill explained her “kiss of vermouth” technique that gives the spotlight to the vodka and brine instead.

“With martinis, oftentimes people will ask for them to be dry, and since vermouth is tricky to work with, I find it always comes out perfectly to swish it in the glass and dump it out and that just makes it perfect,” she said.

In our “What’s in that cocktail?” series, we encourage our readers to make the cocktail at home. But, with the short season of fiddleheads now over, the only way one can do that is either buy a jar of pickled fiddleheads (there are some at Beth’s Farm Market in Warren) or go to Nautilus and have them make it for you. We’re told there are 22 pints left, so get in there while you can!

The first sip will have the sides of your tongue feeling like a splash of the ocean with its saline taste. The brine is similar to the brine of olive juice with just a kick of red pepper. There’s an earthiness to this drink with the fiddlehead that mellows with each sip. The crunch of the briny fiddlehead garnish is the savory treat at the end.

To see all of our past “What’s In That Cocktail” series (with video!) check out our “Iconic Cocktails” resource page: The best craft cocktails in the Midcoast

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com